Doll



P 1943- R. E. BIRNBAUM 2,328,704

DOLL

Filed Oct. 8; 1941 a Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR RICHARD E. BIRNBAUM Y P M ATTORN EYS Sept. 7, 1943. v 5 BIRNBAUMI DOLL Filed Oct. 8, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 A 4 WW 4 5 U if 5V4 m s R m m w m5 n m a w M m 0 m b w w F mv Patented Sept. 7, 1943 DOLE Richard E. .Birnbaum, N ewtBhclielie, .N. :I.,. as

signer to- Bertha Alexander .Behrman; doing business under. the name 01''- Alexander Doll Company, New york, N. j p 7 Application October- 8, i941, Serial Noz4I4w8 4 This invention relates tofdolls. I The primary object of the present-invention is to generally improve dolls. A'- more p'art-icw lar object is toimprove dollsofthe type shownin' sitting position, by providing means to spread the legs of the doll somewhat when seated. p

A further object is to interconnect the legs for controlled movement in one directiomonly, thus making'it possible'to move the legs while keeping them together and without disengaging the same from the leg-operating levers. This makes it possible to put the doll in a standing position, for in, the standing position the (1011 must be balancedwi'th the center of mass 'di": rectly over thebot'tom surface of the feet, and this requires close adjustment of the longitudinal axis of the body relative to the longitudinal axis of the legs. When the .legs are positivel'yjinterconnected for movement in both directions, they can be brought together in only one position, unless they are disengaged-fromthe=levers.

but that in turn is suitable only for a substan Fig. 1 is a partially sectioned front elevation of the lower portion of a hollow doll body .em bodying featuresof myinvention; t

Fig. 2 is a partially sectioned elevatiomof the bearing block and legs adapted to be: received. in the hollow part of the doll body;

Fig. 3 is a transverse section taken approxi-- -8 Claims. (chi ie -149') and 2 A .Fig'. 4 is a rear elevation ofthe f ront 'wall cf the doll 'b'od'y attherbearihg'bloclif V Figrfi isaisection taken approximately i mane plane-ofthe1line fi iiofFig. "11 Fig; i'sa' "perspective view showing the-leg; lever, "andbearingbloclr in dialssembil ed relatiom "Fig; '7' is explanatbry era yieldabl'e connectionuseiibrthezlegs; H liigi 8 is area'relevation' showing the relation Of"t 1lB""bEaTlIIg -block and legs" when the" dol l is seated: p I 'Fi'gz' 9 is "a section' through one ef the levers; and is taken approximately in the plane or the 1ine"9=9"of" Figr-G; t

Fig; =10 is a partially sectioned side elevationmately" in the plane :of the line 3---3 of' Figsa showing the-doll iirseated' 'po'sition Fig? H is awerticaI-se'ction 'tl'irougl'i 'tfheflegs; taken approximately inthe plane of" the line jllP-Ili'Oi Fig. 12; H

"Fig: .1 2- is a horizontal 'sectiowtakem-apprcm mateiy in the ;"ami p i Fig; '13"illustratesa"con1pleted doll embodying theinventiom; j j

Referring to the drawings,.and'moreparticu r larly' to;Fig: 131mm dolrmayberconventionarin comprising a; bouyportion 152", ahead 4","anti arms Iii. The dolliis further'pro'vi'cled withlegsdfl and which are operatively interconnected within the eon in such a-manner mat'rearward movement "of one ortne "legsfcauses iorwarti movement 'of theiother. specificaily; if" the doll is moved along with the legdfl restiiig"on the floor; the resulting "relatively rearward mowem'en't' oi leg 8 causes "a forWa'rd movement or 1eg*-20: Continued forwardmo-vement of tliedoll willbring' leg 2%) "to thefibor; with ensuing rem tively rearward" movement;whicli 'in turn causes a forward movement eflegte -above the fio'on The-mechanism fbrproducingtlredesiredwalii irrg" action "maybe" described winners-remote Figs; -3-and*-5-of the drawings: The doll-"body 2'2 is- -open at the botto ,--and" receivesa bearing Z0 slotted? to mate with levee-28; The upper ends of tlie levers Q26 ami iii are conne'etediby a cord 30, so thatvmwarwmovement of orre'iever pullsthe otherilever rearwardl Inasmuch asthe levers move 1 with the lega but 1 in opposite dinee tic-n areairward 'movement df ana -leg: causes-aforwardmovement ofl the other: 3 5

In accordance with the present invention, the levers are connected by only a single cord passing-about a single guide 32. Movement of one leg relative to the body in one direction only, but

'not in the other direction, causes an opposite does not cause rearward movement of the other. .I

An important advantage of this arrangement is that the longitudinal axis of both legs when able to completethe center part of the lower open kept together may be adjusted relative to the lon-v gitudinal axis of the body portion overan appreciable range of movement. This facilitates standing the doll upright, because change or adjustment may be needed in order to so balance.

The ad the doll as to stand erect on its feet. justment needed is usually only a slight angular movement of both legs relativeto the doll-body after the feet have been brought together and placed on the floor.

Rearward movement of both legs relative to the body is limited by the length of cord 30, but forwardly of that limit the legs may be moved together withthe levers until .the levers bear against the rear wall'of the body. In the intervening range of movement, the legs may be moved together with the levers, and this is an important advantage over the construction shown in the Torngren patent aforesaid, because in that patent the legs when brought together, can occupy only a fixed position relative to the body, except, of course, if wholly disengaged from the levels, but this physical disengagement, while suitable for an extreme movement such as that to the sitting position, is not suitable for a slight, delicatel y adjusted angular movement such as is needed to stand the doll in erect position on its own feet. In the specific case here shown, the permitted angular adjustment without disengaging the legs from the "levers, is a matter of approximately thirtydeg'rees. It is only for a greater angular movement (for example, ninety degrees for-the sitting position) that the legs need be disengaged fromthe levers. a j accordancewith' the present invention, the guide '32 is a relatively deeply channeled pulley. This'pulley is freely'rotatable ona generally upright axis. Tspecifica'lly, the pulley is prefertiirned out 'ofYwood, and is freely rotatable on ascr'ew't l which is screwed into the upper end of bearing block 24 nearthe rear edge thereof. The channel in pulley 32 is deep enough to fullylreceive thev cord 30, even though it is preferably a heavy, woven cord. To prevent'escape of the cord from the pulley when the cord' is made slaclgl provide means to close th 'pulley channel. Specifically, the rear wall of the doll is preferablyintegrally molded with an arcuatc surfacefiii, best shown in Figs. 1, 5, and 12. This arcuate'surface issp dimensioned and shaped as to fit quite closely around the pulley 32 although it isnot in actual contact with the pu1ley,a'nd inno wayobstructs the desired free rotation of th samehe le r e b en the ar l e wallet and the flangesof pulley 32 is, however,

very much less than the diameter of the relatively heavy cord 38, and therefore effectively prevents escape of the cord fromthe pulley.

" 'The ends of cord 30 pass through perfcrations' in the upper :ends .of. levers 26 and 28. The effective, length of cord 38 is adjusted and then fixed by means of fl'angedmetal clips 38 which allel front and rear edges, and an external portion 42 which is arcuately shaped on a curve suitendof the doll body. The front and rear walls of the dollbody have integrally molded guide channels for receiving-the internal portion 40.

The rear guide channel is shown in Fig. 1, it being formed by raised guides 44. The front guide channel is shown in Fig. 4, it being formed by parallel spaced guides 46. The surface 48 betweenguides M is parallel to the surface 50 be tween-guides 46, and the spacing therebetween is equal to the distance between the front and v back edges of the bearing; block 24. With 'this construction, it is evidentfthatthe bearing block may be slid upwardly into the lower end of the doll body until the stop surfaces 52 reach the lower ends-ofthe dollbody, as will'be seen in Fig. 5. To further secure the bearing block against'being pulled out of the doll body, the body is provided with countersunk screw holes and screws fi l'through the front and rear Walls, said screws being'received in block 24, which is pref-v erably .made of wood or othermaterial adapted to receive screws 54 as well, as the bearing screw 34 previously referred to.

Referring to Fig. 6, the bearing block 24 has a hole bored transversely therethrough, said hole f tightly frictionally receivinga metal bearing tube 50L Levers 2E and 28 are oseillatably received over the ends of tube 66. These'levers are preferably stamped out of heavy fibre board; The

sernbled relation so that they maybe disengaged.

from the levers when turned to the sitting position shown in Figs. 8 through l2; Figs. 10 and '12 show 'how the maximum rearward movement 'of the levers 2S and 28 is'arrested when the levers reach the rear of'the doll body. This movement is far less than that through which the legs are moved to put the doll in'sitting position. in the sitting position, the slots 54 of-the legs are there fore disengaged from the levers; as --is clearly shown in Figs. 8 and 11. To facilitate thisdisengagement, theedgcs-of 'the levers are prefer- 'ably partially beveled, as i's in'dic'ated'at 66 in'Fig. 9, or the edgesof the slots .E i are disposed atlan angle, as will be seen inFigs. 8 and 11,- orlb'oth, as here shown. Thisdisengagement of. the. logs from the levers necessitates and. is accompanied by'an outward movement'of the legs relativeto the position which they occupy. whentheyare interlocked with'the levers, this outward movement for each leg beingieqnal .to the thickness of the lever. The connection between ther legs. is there-j 22;?2'8W04 'iimentiofcrthe a'iegs .Tfor:incneasedtstabilityr when :the :Ed dlliis but'irrisi'ttingipo'sition. 'll hisiis illustrated "in l1 Jan-d112, iin which :L'the sdlidaline': posihowever, that the forward partoft-the'ibody bears against the inner thighs of the legs at the points 68. lltt will be evident thatiby inclining the body l forwardly somewhat further that the position shown in Fig. 11, the forward portion of thebody will bear against and spread the legs outwardly from the solid line position I 8 and 20, to the broken line position l8 and 26, the body then bearing against the legs at the points 68. This is accompanied by an outward angular movement of the legs indicated in broken lines at [8' and in Fig. 12.

The desired yieldable connection between the legs is obtained in a manner which will be clear from inspection of Figs. 2 and 7. The legs are provided with small wire hooks Hi and 12. The heads of these hooks are received substantially within and are held by recessed or conically shaped washers 74. The hooks are connected by a short endless rubber band 15. In Fig. 7 the washers have been moved in from the heads to better show these parts.

To assemble the parts, one of the legs is provided with its washer, hook, and rubber band, This is applied to the bearing block and lever assembly with the rubber band passing through the bearing tube. The other leg is placed over the opposite end of the bearing tube, and a suitable hooked instrument is passed through the leg and is used to hook the free end of the rubher band. This is then pulled through the leg far enough to enable the operator to apply the hook 12 with its washer. The rubber band when released draws the hook 12 into position.

It is believed that the construction, method.

of assembly, and operation of my improved doll, as well as the advantages thereof, will be apparent from the foregoing detailed description.

It will also be apparent that while I have shown and described my invention in a preferred form, many changes and modifications may be made in the structure disclosed, without departing from the spirit of the invention, as sought to be defined in the following claims.

I claim:

1. A walking doll comprising a body portion, a bearing block, levers oscillatable on said bearing block, legs carried on said bearing block and levers, and means for operatively connecting said levers together within the body portion, said means comprising a single cord extending around a single pulley at the rear end only of the bearing block, whereby rearward movement of one leg relative to the body causes forward movement of the other, but forward movement of one leg does not cause rearward movement of the other, and the longitudinal axis of both legs when kept together may be adjusted together with the levers relative to the longitudinal axis of the body portion for desired reason, as for example, in order to help balance the doll for erect. or standing position, the back wall of the body portion being shaped to closely surround a portion of the periphery of the flanges of the pulley in order to prevent escape of the cord from the pulley when the cord is slack.

2. A walking doll comprising a body portion, a bearing block, levers oscillatable on said bear- Ling blockplegs: carried n saidibearingublonkiand levers,- and me'ansi for :oper ativ'ely i connecting said devrstwvithini we bodyLpOtttion; saidlmea'ns inicludlngza pulley rotatably mounted pm anJupright -axis -atetheitop of the bearing block immediately z-adjacent the body portion, :a' cord extending iar ound said npulleyto:thetiupper'.ends of said levers; ithe-wall1ot th'e" bodyportionat' the pulley being shaped 'to closely sur-roun-d aportion 10f .itlrerperipliery oititheflanges'o'f the-'pulley-in order to prevent escape of the cord from the pulley when thecord is slack.

3. A walking doll comprising a body portion, a bearing block, levers oscillatabl on said bearing block, legs carried on said bearing block and levers, and mean for operatively connecting said levers within the body portion, said means including a pulley rotatably mounted on an upright axis at the top of the bearing block immediately adjacent the back of the body portion, a cord extending around said pulley and through perforationsin .the upper ends of said levers, metal clips on said cord outside said levers to fix the elfective length of the cord, the back wall of the body portion being shaped to closely surround a portion of the periphery of the flanges of the pulley in order to prevent escape of the cord from the pulley when the cord is slack.

4. A walking doll comprising a. hollow body portion which is open at the bottom, a bearing block adapted to be received in the open bottom end of the body portion, said bearing block having internal and external portions, the internal portion having parallel upright front and rear edges, and the external portion being curved to complete the configuration of the body portion, levers oscillatable on said bearing block, legs carried on said bearing block and levers, and a cord operatively connecting the levers, the front and rear walls of the body portion at the open lower end thereof being provided with integrally molded channels adapted to slidably receive the parallel vertical edges of the bearing block.

5 Awalking and sitting doll comprising a body portion, legs pivotally mounted thereon, means interconnecting the legs for opposite or walking movement, and means operative when the doll is put in sitting position to spread the legs apart angularly and outwardly to give the doll increased stability in the sitting position.

6. A walking and sitting doll comprising a body portion, a bearing at the bottom of the body portion, levers oscillatably mounted on the bearing, legs pivotally mounted on the bearing, the inside surfaces of the leg at the bearing being slotted to mate with the levers, means connecting said levers for the desired walking movement, said slots and levers being separable and disengaged when the doll is put in sitting position, and means operative when the doll is put in sitting position to spread the legs apart angularly and outwardly to give the doll increased stability in the sitting position.

7. A walking and sitting doll comprising a body portion, levers oscillatably mounted at the bottom of the body portion, legs pivotally mounted at the bottom of the body portion, the inside surfaces of the legs at the levers being slotted to mate with the levers, the levers being movable out of the slots when the doll is put in sitting bearing block partially received in the body portion, levers oscillatably mounted on the bearing block, legs pivotally mounted on the bearing block, the inside surfaces of the legs at the hearing block being slotted to mate with'the levers,

said slots or/and levers being beveled to permit 10 the levers to move out of the slots when the doll is put in sitting position, the front wall of the lower end of the body being. tapered and so dimensioned as to bear against the inner thighs of the legs when the doll is 'Put in sitting position and to thereby cam or spread the legs apart somewhat to give the doll increased stability .in the sitting position. v '1' j RICHARD E. BIRNBAUM. I 

